Kyle Shanahan is Not Happy About the 49ers' Game in Australia

He's not happy.

Dec 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan leaves the field after the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan isn't too happy about the prospect of going to Australia for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.

The 49ers will kick off the new season down under at Melbourne Cricket Ground, facing their NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams as the away team as part of the NFL’s International Series.

The game will take place on Friday morning local time, making it a prime-time Thursday Night Football matchup in the United States to begin the season.

Kyle Shanahan on the Australia game: 'It is what it is'

Jan 11, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The 49ers, like the Rams, will be on an 18-hour flight for the season opener, making it an exhaustive task for both teams to start the new season.

It is currently unclear when the 49ers will fly out, how much practice they will get leading up to the game, and how the logistics will affect Week 2 and beyond.

In uncharted territory, the 49ers could find themselves on the back foot purely because of the distance traveled.

Shanahan is not particularly pleased with the move, revealing that the team had no say in whether they would play there, as those decisions are made by the NFL.

"I think there are eight international games and we've got two of them. Our goal to go 19 hours away. We’re going back in time or into the future. It is what it is. We’ll deal with it," he told reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix.

When asked if there are any upsides to the game taking place in Australia, he stated: "No, not at all. It's cool for the league globally. As far as the teams doing it, there's not much benefit to it."

The importance of Week 1 is even greater for the San Francisco 49ers. They cannot afford to have many injuries through training camp and preseason games, as the last thing the franchise needs is to lose key roster pieces before the season begins.

There is supposed to be time to recalibrate after the start of the year, but that remains unclear, and a loss would immediately put the franchise on the back foot. With the added challenge of international travel and a short turnaround, preparation will be crucial.

The coaching staff will need to carefully manage workloads in the weeks leading up to the opener to ensure players arrive in Australia fresh and ready. Any disruption to that process could make an already difficult start to the season even more challenging.